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Chippewa Steel

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"Coulee Region Chill" redirects here. For North American 3 Hockey League, see Coulee Region Chill (NA3HL).
Chippewa Steel
CityChippewa Falls, Wisconsin
LeagueNorth American Hockey League
DivisionMidwest
Founded2005
Home arenaChippewa Area Ice Arena
ColorsGreen, black, gray
     
Owner(s)Kelly Kasik
Geoffrey Stahl
General managerChris Ratzloff
Cody Gonyeau
Head coachChris Ratzloff
AffiliateWisconsin Woodsmen(NA3HL)
Franchise history
2005–2010North Iowa Outlaws
2010–2018Coulee Region Chill
2018–presentChippewa Steel

The Chippewa Steel is a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, that plays in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

History

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The franchise began in 2005 as the North Iowa Outlaws based in Mason City, Iowa, where the team played for five seasons until moving to Onalaska, Wisconsin, in 2010 under owner Mark Motz as the Coulee Region Chill.[1] The team was then sold to Michelle Bryant in 2012 and the franchise was eventually moved in 2014 to nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin, with games at the Green Island Ice Arena.


After the 2017–18 season, Chill owner Michelle Bryant sold the franchise to Steve Black of JB Black Enterprise, LLC, the owner of the NA3HL's New Ulm Steel. Black relocated the Chill franchise to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, as the Chippewa Steel to play out of Chippewa Area Ice Arena. Bryant would then rename her NA3HL team from La Crosse Freeze to Coulee Region Chill while continuing to play out of La Crosse.[2] Al Rooney was named the Steel's first head coach and general manager,[3] but was relieved of duties 23 games into his first season with a 5–16–1–1 record.[4] Assistant coach Carter Foguth was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season before be given the role permanently at the end of the season.[5]


In March 2021, it was reported that Steve Black sold the Steel and the Tier III New Ulm Steel to an ownership group led by Kelly Kasik.[6] The sale was confirmed on April 16 along with the announcement of new general manager and head coach Mike Janda.[7] However, Janda was then given a two-year suspension in August 2021 by USA Hockey for manipulating records to use non-eligible players when he held a previous coaching job on a youth team and was subsequently released by the Steel.[8] The Steel then hired Casey Mignone, the assistant coach of the St. Cloud Norsemen.[9]

After Casey Mignone left for a coaching job at Alaska-Farianks, on July 8, 2023, owner Kelly Kasik and the Steel hired Chris Ratzloff,[10] who had previously coached for the Rochester Grizzlies(NA3HL) for the past 4 years. Chris Ratzloff went 29-25-6 in his first season as coach. The Steel also adopted a new slogan in 2023, which is currently "Rally the Valley!"

Current division opponents for the Steel are the Anchorage Wolverines, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Janesville Jets, Kenai River Brown Bears, Minnesota Wilderness, Springfield Jr. Blues, and Wisconsin Windigo(previously Minnesota Magicians)

Season-by-season records

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Season GP W L OTL PTS GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
North Iowa Outlaws
2005–06 58 18 37 3 39 149 219 1439 5th, Central did not qualify
2006–07 62 27 29 6 60 174 198 1446 4th, Central Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 2-3 vs Fargo-Moorehead Jets
2007–08 58 38 16 4 80 195 137 1209 1st, Central Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 0-3 vs Springfield Jr. Blues
2008–09 58 35 18 5 75 229 171 1107 2nd, Central Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 1-3 vs. Owatonna Express
Lost Robertson Cup Round Robin(went 1-3)
2009–10 58 15 37 6 36 147 234 915 5th, Central did not qualify
Coulee Region Chill
2010–11 58 33 20 5 71 204 180 982 2nd(T), Central Won Div. Semi-Finals, 3-1 vs. Owatonna Express
Lost Div. Finals, 2-3 vs. Bismarck Bobcats
2011–12 60 18 35 7 43 162 229 996 4th, MidWest Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-3 vs. St. Louis Bandits
2012–13 60 16 39 5 37 157 224 849 6th, Central did not qualify
2013–14 60 31 28 1 63 181 181 1011 5th, Midwest did not qualify
2014–15 60 28 23 9 65 176 182 987 4th, Midwest Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 2-3 vs. Minnesota Wilderness
2015–16 60 33 26 1 67 177 165 883 4th, Midwest Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 1-3 vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs
2016–17 60 31 27 2 64 220 220 920 4th, Midwest Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 0-3 vs. Janesville Jets
2017–18 60 17 34 9 43 162 214 661 5th, Midwest did not qualify
Chippewa Steel
2018–19 60 19 38 3 41 149 220 1019 6th, Midwest did not qualify
2019–20 51 29 18 4 62 171 146 798 2nd, Midwest Season cancelled
2020–21 48 14 29 5 33 116 169 904 5th, Midwest did not qualify
2021–22 60 25 31 4 54 168 206 772 7th, Midwest
24 of 29 NAHL		 did not qualify
2022–23 60 31 25 4 66 186 172 806 4th, Midwest
13 of 29 NAHL		 Lost Div. Semi-Finals, 0-3 vs. Wisconsin Windigo
2023-24 60 29 25 6 64 170 188 646 5th of 8th Midwest, 20 of 32 NAHL Did not qualify

Playoffs

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  • 2007
First Round - Fargo-Moorhead Jets defeated North Iowa Outlaws 3-games-to-2
  • 2008
First Round - Springfield Jr. Blues defeated North Iowa Outlaws 3-games-to-0
  • 2009
First Round - Owatonna Express defeated North Iowa Outlaws 3-games-to-1
North Iowa Outlaws advance to Robertson Cup round robin as HOST
Robertson Cup Round Robin - North Iowa Outlaws (1-3) - Eliminated (L, 3-4 vs. Wild; L, 1-2 vs. Phantoms; L, 2-3 vs. Bobcats; W, 4-2 vs. Bandits)
  • 2011
Division Semifinals - Coulee Region Chill defeated Owatonna Express 3-games-to-1
Division Finals - Bismarck Bobcats defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-2
  • 2012
Division Semifinals - St. Louis Bandits defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-0
  • 2015
First Round - Minnesota Wilderness defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-2
  • 2016
Division Semifinals – Fairbanks Ice Dogs defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-1
  • 2017
Division Semifinals – Janesville Jets defeated Coulee Region Chill 3-games-to-0
  • 2023
Midwest Division Semifinals - Wisconsin Windigo defeated Chippewa Steel 3-games-to-0

Rivalry

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The Chippewa Steel and Janesville Jets have one of the most fierce rivalries in the Midwest Division. The history of this rivalry dates back to 2018, when the Steel were "New" to the league, where the Jets and Steel fought for a milk can, which is called the Dairyland Milk Can Trophy,[11] which was sponsored by Blain's Farm & Fleet. The battle for this milk jug ran from 2018-2022, but it was stopped in the 2023-24 season. The Steel had a 21-17-2 record in that time frame, and overall lead the series 26-21-3 at the moment. But just because the trophy was taken away doesn't mean the animosity was, as these teams are usually at each other's throats every minute or so. In fact, in a game on March 1, 2024, between the Jets and Steel in Chippewa Falls, 14 out of the 18 penalties served in that game between the two teams were either Roughing, Head Contact, Unsportsmanlike, Slashing, Boarding, or Checking from Behind(These are generally considered more "rougher" penalties), 8 of those being Roughing alone. The Jets ended up winning that game 5-0, off of a 4 goal first period.

References

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  1. ^ "Coulee Region Chill sold, will move to Chippewa Falls". La Crosse Tribune. May 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Coulee Region Chill sold and relocated to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin". NAHL. April 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "Chippewa Steel name Al Rooney as Head Coach/GM". NAHL. May 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "NAHL: Rooney relieved of coaching duties with Chippewa Steel, Foguth named interim head coach". Chippewa.com. November 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "NAHL: Chippewa Steel name Foguth head coach". Chippewa.com. April 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "New Ulm Steel have a new owner". The Journal. March 9, 2021.
  7. ^ "Steel Announce Ownership Transfer and Coaching Change". OurSports Central. April 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "NAHL: Janda relieved of coaching, director of hockey operations duties for Chippewa Steel". Chippewa.com. August 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "Steel Name Casey Mignone Head Coach". OurSports Central. August 27, 2021.
  10. ^ "Steel hire Chris Ratzloff as head coach & GM". 18 wqow18.com. July 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Chippewa Steel, Janesville Jets introduce Dairyland Milk Can trophy to new rivalry". chippewa.com. May 30, 2018.
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